Understanding the Gender Gap An Economic History of American Women [Paperback]

Women have entered the labor market in unprecedented numbers, yet these critically needed workers still earn less than men and have fewer opportunities for advancement. This study traces the evolution of the female labor force in America, addressing the issue of gender distinction in the workplace and refuting the notion that women's employment advances were a response to social revolution rather than long-run economic progress. Employing innovative quantitative history methods and new data series on employment, earnings, work experience, discrimination, and hours of work, it establishes that the present economic status of women evolved gradually over the last two centuries and that past conceptions of women workers persist.

1. Women's Experience in the American Economy
2. The Evolution of the Female Labor Force
3. The Gender Gap in Earnings and Occupations
4. The Emergence of Wage Discrimination
5. The Changing Economic Role of Married Women
6. Why Did Change Take So Long?
7. The Political Economy of Gender
8. Economic Progress and Gender Equality
Appendix to Chapter 2: Correction to the c. 1860 Female Labor Force Participation Rates
Data Appendix
Notes
References
Index

Goes a long way toward the reintegration of labor history into labor economics....Clearly demonstrates the importance of history in understanding the evolution and operation of labor markets...a primer on much of modern labor economics. --Journal of Economic History

An excellent historical overview of women in the labor force. A very challenging but manageable text for undergraduates with a limited economics background. --Hilarie Lieb,Northwestern University

An insightful analysis not available in traditional studies of the U.S. economy. --J. M. Skaggs,Wichita State University

Outstanding....Goldin has painstakingly assembled a long and rich set of consistent data, much of it rescued frol#@